I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. T.J. Klune knows how to write in a way that completely envelopes me in the story and has my imagination going wild. I loved the first book in this series and this one just as much. What a wonderful hug to the world.

💭 ⓂⓎ ⓉⒽⓄⓊⒼⒽⓉⓈ
This is the perfect book to read around election season, reminding us of what truly matters: humanity, standing up for marginalized communities, appreciating the uniqueness and beauty of others, and being on the right side of history. This book gives us everything we deserve in life: family, love, friendship, acceptance, and a comforting hug when we’re feeling down.
If you enjoyed The House in the Cerulean Sea, you’ll want to pick this one up as well. The characters are just as charming, and though there are moments that might leave you feeling frustrated and angry, the story ultimately fills you with hope. I gave it 4⭐️ because, while I enjoyed it, I’m not sure a sequel was absolutely necessary. At times, it felt like not a whole lot happened over the course of the 400 pages.
I got an ARC of the excerpt months ago, but I knew I wouldn’t be able to stop once I started, so I waited until I had the full book to dive in!

📚 𝚁𝚎𝚊𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚋𝚘𝚘𝚔 𝚒𝚏 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎:
🪄Fantasy
🤝Found family
🏳️‍🌈LGBTQ rep
♥️Love and acceptance
🥰Lovable characters
🙏Heartwarming and hopeful
📖Sequel

🐦‍🔥𝕄𝕐 ℝ𝔸𝕋𝕀ℕ𝔾 🐦‍🔥
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

💕Q U O T E: “𝐼 𝒻𝒾𝓃𝒶𝓁𝓁𝓎 𝓊𝓃𝒹𝑒𝓇𝓈𝓉𝑜𝑜𝒹 𝓌𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝓁𝒾𝒻𝑒 𝓌𝒶𝓈 𝓈𝓊𝓅𝓅𝑜𝓈𝑒𝒹 𝓉𝑜 𝒷𝑒 𝓁𝒾𝓀𝑒. 𝒞𝑜𝓁𝑜𝓇, 𝒿𝑜𝓎. 𝒯𝑜𝑔𝑒𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓇𝓃𝑒𝓈𝓈. 𝒦𝓃𝑜𝓌𝒾𝓃𝑔 𝓅𝑒𝑜𝓅𝓁𝑒 𝒶𝓇𝑒 𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓇𝑒 𝓉𝑜 𝒽𝒶𝓋𝑒 𝓎𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝒷𝒶𝒸𝓀 𝑒𝓋𝑒𝓃 𝓌𝒽𝑒𝓃 𝓎𝑜𝓊'𝓇𝑒 𝒶𝓉 𝓎𝑜𝓊𝓇 𝒹𝒶𝓇𝓀𝑒𝓈𝓉."

🙏 Thank you NetGalley, Tor Books, and Tj for an ARC excerpt in exchange for my honest thoughts.

TJ Klune does it again in this follow up to the beloved "House In The Cerulean Sea."
I loved following the stories of the existing characters, meeting some new ones, and learning more about Arthur's backstory.
This book can feel a bit heavy at times, especially when drawing on the persecution facing the magical characters and how that lines up with the 2SLGBTQIA+ community. At times the alignment feels a bit forced but at the end of the day it still works. There were some overly sappy moments but I've come to expect it from this author. It reminds me that there can be moments of overly sappiness in life and that's ok!
I especially loved the acknowledgments in the book.

House in the Cerulean sea is one of my favorite books of all time, and I loved getting a glimpse into the new book! So excited to read this in its entirety!

This book was so cozy, goofy, silly and lovely! I love the magic that TJ Klune brings out in his books and I have to say that this book was BETTER than the first book. I love that this story starts off with Linus and Arthur together in this sequel because we got more of their relationship post-first book. My heart was so full after reading this story. No thoughts, just happy vibes!

A new child is being brought to the island. The government is trying to shut down the island home and take the children away. Linus and Arthur have to navigate having a new inspector in the house.

The first book was in Linus’ POV, and this one is Arthur’s story. We get to learn more about his past and his role in the greater picture of saving magical youth. We see him battle anxiety, stress, and (arguably) PTSD.

The cast of characters is wonderful as always. Chauncey and Lucy constantly had me laughing. I only wish that the villains weren’t all women. That was a little disappointing for me.

Thank you to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for my advanced digital copy!

4.5 ⭐️

I'm so glad that I'm getting to meet these characters again in this sequel.

The discovery of self and path to healing is never linear and it was wonderful to see reflected in these characters.

I love seeing their hope, determination, and resilience.

This sequel was just as heartwarming as the first. I loved getting back to these kids and fell back into the world so quickly. This is a must read if you enjoyed the first book.

Not that I didn't love it but it didn't do it for me as much as House in the Cerulean Sea which I felt was incredibly unique. Honestly though to each their own as I always said. I feel like personally I wanted more of Arthurs deep and dark past and I did not get that. Dont get me wrong I loved this book the characters were the sweetest most precious people ever. I honestly felt like the plot lacked a lot and plots are what I thrive off of.

There's a whole genre around this fuzzy, loving, comforting kind of fantasy now, and I'm here for it. The main character is so loveable, and you feel like you're right back in the world from the first book right away. There are problems and trauma we need to heal from, but this is a world of love and found families. Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this

I loved being back in this world and revisiting with some of my favorite characters. I loved the introduction of the new character as well and some of the very important messaging in this book regarding inclusion, acceptance, and celebration!!

Rating: Stars

I picked up this book immediately after rereading The House in the Cerulean Sea, and, other than a perspective shift to Arthur, it read like one continuous book. Same vibes, same characters, same heart-bursting energy.

There was a bit more darkness to this novel, as Arthur has a lot more trauma in his past that he's working through, and the main conflict is with the government, which... yea.

But that didn't stop me from absolutely devouring the novel in (basically) one day. I love the Baker-Parnasseses, and I will live in their world as often as Klune lets me.

I love TJ Klune! He has such a unique writing style, both of the books in this duology feel like you’re getting a nice warm hug the entire time you read.

I would read TJ Klune's grocery lists. This excerpt from SOMEWHERE BEYOND THE SEA was like dipping your toe into a warm bath--or a cerulean sea--on a tough day. I love these characters dearly and it was so nice to be back in this whimsical world again.

This was only a sneak peek at the book, but I also listened to the entire audiobook recently. This was an absolutely fantastic follow up the The Cerulean Sea. Highly recommend the the audiobook to anyone and everyone. The narrator is perfection!

I loved The House in the Cerulean Sea, so I am beyond excited to have received this sneak peek - thanks to all parties! It was interesting to see a bit more of Arthur's history and point of view. It looks like in this novel, we will get a bit more of Arthur's whimsical side and more sweet interpersonal relationships between the characters. The first book is such a comfort read for me, and I look forward to adding the rest of the series to its rank.

This little snippet of the sequel to The House in the Cerulean Sea was brilliant and not quite enough to satisfy my curiosity! This was just a taste and it certainly has me hooked for more! The first book was one of my favourite reads and I can’t wait to read more about the Island, Orphanage and wonderful quirky characters!

Love the excerpt! Can't wait for the whole book. Klune never disappoints and I can't wait to return to this world

Had the absolute best time being back in this world. I felt this installment was slightly repetitive, but as always, love the message and tone of this series.

Somewhere Beyond the Sea is the second book in the House in the Cerulean Sea series by TJ Klune. Released 10th Sept 2024 by Macmillan on their Tor imprint, it's 400 pages and is available in all formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links throughout.

This is a warmly supportive tale for anyone who has felt like a misfit. The characters are appealing and whimsical and the entire premise of love, generosity of spirit, kindness, and found family shine through. It is humorous, and often full of slapstick comedy (one of the kids has eyestalks on tentacles; they're -all- pretty special), but always, the theme of found family and misfits-against-the-world comes through loud and clear. It's often also poignant, but the support and growth are always there too.

The unabridged audiobook has a run time of 15 hours 48 minutes and is marvelously narrated by Daniel Henning, who does a great job with the wildly divergent character voices. His timing is perfect, and he manages to delineate the kids' and adults' voices perfectly. Sound and production quality are high throughout the read.

Four and a half stars. Excellent series follow-up and great story narration. Definitely one for public library acquisition as well as for fans of YA school fantasy.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.